BTG Pactual had been considering a sale or management buy-out of the $4 billion fund, industry sources said.

"We have informed investors that GEMM (global emerging markets and macro fund) will remain 100 percent owned by BTG, now within a separate legal entity, rather than just a business unit, with an independent board to ensure even better transparency and continued good governance," Steve Jacobs, BTG Pactual Asset Management's chief executive, told Reuters in an email.

"The investment team, middle and back office remains unchanged," he said.

BTG Pactual cut about 18 percent of Brazil-based staff on Thursday in an effort to rein in costs by 25 percent as part of a restructuring in the wake of the arrest of billionaire founder André Esteves. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Simon Jessop)